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MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



MELBOURNE H. FORD, 

A REPRESENTATIVB KROM MICHI(;aN', 



I>EL1VERK1) IN THE 



House of Representatives and in the Senate, 



FIFTY-SECOND CONORESS. 



PUBLISHED HV ORDER OF CONGRESS. 



WAf^HINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1S93. 






liesolred hy the House of Represrniatives (the f^enfiir eoncnrrinq), That there 
he printed of the eulogies (U'livered in Congress ui)(in the Hon. Mkmk nitNE 
H. Ford, late a Representative from the State of Mioliigan, eight tlionsand 
copies, of which two thonsand copies shall he delivered to the Kepreseuta- 
tives and Senators of that State, and of the remaining numher, two thou- 
sand copies shall he for the use of the Senate and four thousand copies for 
the use of the House. And of the cjuota of the House of Representatives, 
the Public Printer shall set aside tifty copies which he shall have bound 
in full morocco with gilt edges, the same to be delivered when complete 
to the family of the deceased. And the Secretary of the Treasury is 
hereby directed to have engraved and j)rinted. at the earliest day possi- 
ble, a portrait of the above to accompany said eulogies. 

Agreed to in the House of Representatives February 14, 1893. 

Agreed to in the Senate February 14, 1893. 



Gift from 

Judge and Mrs. isa^c R,3«BB 
Nov. 17, 1931 



PROCEHDIXGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



ANNOUNCEMENT OF DEATH. 

December 19, 1891. 

Mr. CHiPMANjTTTivrifliigaii. Mr. Speaker, in accordance ^itli 
the request of the delegation from the State of ^lichigan, tlie 
duty devolves upon nie to announce to this House the death, 
on thel'lstdayof April hist, of Hon. Melhoikne H. Ford, a 
member of Congress from the State of Michigan. He died very 
suddenly, in the fresh maturity of his very remarkable i)owers; 
and in his death th(> lirilliant future, <>f which his jiast career 
gave promise, has been cut off. His obsecjuies were attended 
by a multitude of citizens of the thriving and beautiful city in 
which he resided, an<l by representati\'e men not only from 
the State of Michigan but from other States of the Union. 

This is not a proper occasion to eater upon a eulogy of Mr. 
Ford's career. He served in the Legislature of his State. He 
served on this floor, where he was known, respected, and 
beloved by many gentlemen who are members of the present 
Congress. I will content myself at present with simply and 
reverently announcing to the House the sad fact of his death, 
and on another occasion will ask that opportunity be given to 
members of this body who admired and loved him to pay 
tribute to his memory. I ask the adoption of the resolution 
which I send to tiie desk. 

3 



4 Proceedings in llie House of Representatives. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Whereas the House has heard with profounil sorrow of the death of Hon. 
Melhourne H. Ford, late a Representative from the State of Michigau : 
Therefore, 

Iii'sulred, That as a mark of rr'SjuM't to his memory the House do now ad- 
journ. 

Rmolvtd, That the Clerk c-oniuiunicate these resolutions to thi^ Senate. 

Tho resolntioiis were adopted ; and, iu accordance thercwitli, 
tlie House (at 12:37 \). in.) adjourned until Wednesday next. 



April !», 1892. 
Mr. Belknap. Mr. Speaker, I ask for the regular order. 
Tlie Speaker. The (Uerk will read the specialorder for this 
day. 
The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That Saturday, April 9, l>e;;inuing at 2 o'eloek p. m., be set 
apart for paying tribute to the memory of Hon. Memsourxe H. Ford, late a 
member ofthe House of Representatives from the Fifth district of Michigan. 

Mr. Belknap. Mr. Speaker, I offer tlie resolution.s which 1 
send to the desk. 

The resolutions were read, as follows: 

Kenoh'ed, That tlie business of the Hous(^ lie now suspended, tliat oppor- 
tunity may ]>e given for a. tribute to the memory of the Hon. Mkluoirxe 
H. Ford, late a Representative from the State of Michigan. 

Benolved, That, as a particular nuirk of respect to the memory ofthe de- 
ceased, and in recognition of his emhu^ut abilities as a public servant, the 
House at the conclusion of these nn'morial iiroieedings shall stand ad- 
journed. 

liexolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Uesolred, That the Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these resolu- 
tions to the family ofthe deceased. 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 



Address of Mr. O'Donnell of Michigan. 

Mr. Speaker, the frequent assignment of ilays in wliicli tlie 
course of business is suspended in the House of He])resciira- 
tives to pay tribute to tlie worth of departed nienihers of the 
Fifty-secoud Congress who have gone to the silent continents 
of eternity furnisli impressive lessons of the mutability of 
human affairs, tlie uncertainty of life, and the certainty of 
deatli. Since my service in this House many have been sum- 
moned from the activities of being to the stillness of the grave. 
What a roll of names that can make answer only fioni tlie 
silent depths of memory! In the present Congress what a- 
menibership have gone to the solemn shades! 

Since Michigan became a State five of its members in this 
House and two Senators have died in ofdce. The latter were 
Kinsley S. Bingham, one of our early statesmen, who died in 
1861, and Zachariah Chandler, the great war Seimtor, unex- 
pectedly taken from earth in 1879. Of the members of the 
House whose terms were closed by death were Edward Brad- 
ley, died in 1847, before taking his seat; Wilder D. Foster, 
who passed away in 1872; Al])lieus S. Williams, summoned 
hence in 1878; Seth C. Moffatt, suddenly called in 1887; and 
tlie fifth and last of the list of Michigan's representatives 
released from duty by death was IMelbourne H. Foud, whose 
memory we honor to-day, and who was numbered with the dead 
less than a year ago, Ajjril 2(», 18ltl. 

Mr. Ford was born in Saline, Mich., June 30, 1849. .My tirst 
acipiaiutance with him began in my own city, where he was 
employed as a clerk. I remember that the <luties of the clerk- 
ship were performed faithfully and accei)tably by the youth. 
When be had given up the huinl)le position lie departed, and 



6 Address of Mr. O^ Donnelly of Michigan., on the 

I did not meet hiui again until the winter of 1887 iu this Hall, 
when he came to enter upon the duties of a Eepresentative in 
the Fiftieth Congress. 

Mr. Ford commenfed his education at the Agricultural Col- 
lege at Lansing, and while there received the appointment of 
naval cadet at Annapolis. He pursued the studies at that 
historic school for a few months. Tlie young man desired to 
serve his country. He had not attained the years on entering 
the Academy to be enrolled among the country's defenders, 
but after a time he joined the naval forces, and saw a little 
service before the ordeal of war was fully ended. He was per- 
mitted to be a participant in the great struggle that made 
ambition virtue and repaid the nation m following the profes- 
sion for which it had partially educated him. 

Wlien peace was restored he quitted the iN'avy and turned 
his talents to the conquests of peace, studied law, and was 
admitted. He never practiced that profession, but served 
many courts in another capacity tlian that of advocate or coun- 
sel. He ranked among the most proficient of stenographers 
and enjoyed the work. He held but two elective positions, both 
legislative. In 1884 he" was chosen a member of the lower 
house of the Michigan Legislature, being accredited to that 
branch by the great manufacturing city of the State. He soon 
gave evidence of decided ability, his service being so accept- 
able that he was rewarded in 1886 by an election to this House. 

During the term here he exhibited application and industry, 
accomi^lishiug much for his constituency and district. He 
sought bylaw to stay the tide of immigration of the unworthy 
to our shores; to elevate American citizenshii), and debar dan- 
gerous elements coming here; to close the door to those not 
fitted for our institutions. His design was misunderstood. He 
had reared a structure to protect his country. This was lev- 
eled by those whom it was intended to assist, and in the ruins 



Life ami Cliaractcr of Melbourne H. Ford. 7 

was the political liope of the jinimoter of the lef;islati<ni. He 
learned the iustability of public opiuion ; that it is ever chang- 
ing. He accepted the verdict with coniiwsure. 

In the Legislature of Michigan the members of the political 
jiarty with which he was identitied paid him the compliment of 
making him their candidate for United States Senator. 

He retired from this House at the end of his term, disap- 
pointed at the lack of recognition on the part of the constituency 
whom he had desired to benefit. The interregnum between 
elections passed, and in 1800 be was again nominated for Con- 
gress, to share in the astounding victories of his party in that 
year of surprising results. Public opinion that two years bi'- 
fore had cast him down now triumphantlj' designated him 
again as a Representative in Congress. He stood once more 
in the sunshine of success. The lesson of public life is difficult 
to con by those whose philosophy is the welfare of others. 
The issue of that contest restored Mr. Foed to his place among 
the leaders of his party in the Peninsular State and he planned 
to serve his penpk- more efficiently than before. 

In the brief period of forty-seven days after the beginning of 
his tenure as a member of the Fifty-second Congress he was 
suddenly summoned from earth by death, the grim messenger 
striking the fatal blow without warning. On Sunday niglit, 
April 19, 1891, he sought repose, and in that strange and 
solemn interval of time, the twilight of the morning, in the 
violet dawn, he was stricken with the malady which in a few 
hours removed liim from the scenes of earth. He never recov- 
ered consciousness from the attack. He saw not the sorrow- 
ing wife and children and grieving friends about that couch of 
death, but quietly stepped from the harassing cares of the 
present into the realm of eternal rest and peace. 

The 20th of last April was a day of sadness at (Jrand 
Rapids, his home. The wave of sorrow was felt all over Michi- 



8 Address of Mr. O'' Donnelly of Michigan., on the 

gau. At the funeral tlie afifectiou of the i^eople and their 
inoiu'ninj;' for his demise were manifested in many ways. Tlie 
Leg'ishituie of the State jitteiukMliu a body, business was sus- 
pended, and as the remains lay in state at the City Hall, amid 
the flowers of awakening spring, thousands with moist eyes 
looked ujion the ])laeid countenance of the dead. 

The bereavement was expressed so general that it seemed 
those sealed ears might hear. Amid the somber trapiiings of 
woe, the quiet procession of bereaved friends and acquaint- 
ances, as I looked it seemed to me there was that strange re- 
flection of a light that never was on land or sea touching and 
brightening the still features into a look of hope and peaceful 

.joy. 

A great city's heart throbbed with grief that he was taken. 
The inanimate form was conveyed from its home on earth to 
its final home, followed by a great concourse, and in the silent 
city, on that Ai^ril day, when nature was awakening in the 
vividness of renewed life, when the long day of the year had 
dawned upon spring, all that was mortal was tenderly laid 
to rest by loving, fraternal hands; the grave closed over this 
y(mng life. At the obsequies the wovkingmen of the city re- 
quested that the factories be silent that day in order that they 
aught pay their tribute to the memory of one they esteemed so 
well in life. I believe our dead friend would have asked no 
sweeter rosemary for remembrance than this act of the indus- 
trial forces at his home. Gould he have looked down from the 
calm heights of eternity he wouhl liave realized that useful 
lives heie are not forgotten. 

Mr. Speaker, as I saw those marks of respect to his memory 
ill that groat mart of trade, while gazing upon tlie cofldned 
lineaments of our friend and associate, there came to me the 
tender thought once sjioken of another: 

Tbou Ciirai^st into tho worUl weeiiiiij;, \rlii)i' all amnnil tlice were siiiil- 
inic, and tUi>u leavi'st thr world siniliii.;, while all alioiit tlice are in tears. 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 9 

^fr. Ford liveil not Muitt^ forty-two years. Iti this limited 
period lie accoiiii>lished mucli. In the swift pilgiiniagc "from 
the rosy dawn of birtli to death's sad ni.uht'" he wrom^iit for 
others more than for himself I knew him well durin.i;' Ids 
service here, and soon diseovered his strong eonvietions on 
publie questions, and his consistent advocacy thereof. This 
spirit distinguished him to the end of his too hrief life. His 
tastes were social as well as literary, and those who Icnewhiui 
here were inspired with confidence and friendship. His work 
in this Capital wou success, gained by ability, fidelity, and 
industry. 

Reflecting over the vanished life now ])assed on, let ns 
remember, as was said by l^ucretius centuries agone: 

Lil'e is given to nci (iiic lor :i l;i.stiiii; ]iiiss<'ssiiin ; In :i]l tor usr. 

Mr. Speaker, I have sketched the life and public service of 
our departed associate, how he labored for his ))eople and the 
nation. His strong character, eidarged views, application, and 
native ability displayed whih^ a membi'r here brought him rec- 
ognition and prominence in the country. Those who noted 
that career as it developed in this Hall lament that he was too 
early summoned to the otlier world by death. 

In paying this tribute to my dead friend and colleague my 
mind recalls a solemn scene in this Chambei' on February 29, 
18S(S, when he spoke words of sorrowing regret over the death 
of another departed member from ^Michigan, Mr. Moffatt, who, 
like the subject of our service to-day, had crossed the dark 
river and entered the portals of eternity. Tie, too, had been 
almost as suddenly summoned from life. We looked upon him 
one day well and strong, and in a few hours we saw on his 
face the wondrous seal of everlasting jieace. In ,Mr. Foun's 
eulogy of our dead eolleague lie uttered that gem imbedded 
in the language of every peojile, •' say naught of the dead nn- 



10 Address of Mr. O^ Dojuiell, of Micliigan, on Ihe 

less good.'' In that fitting address lie foreshadowed his belief 
in the future life in these words: 

That there is a hereafter every man, it seems to me, must believe. I 
cau not couceive how anyone with human instincts can think otlicrwisc. 
If there exists a person who honestly believes that when his eyes are closed 
in death nothing remains, then, I say, such a person is to lie pitied. Can it 
be that at the conclusion of man's existence on this planet for a compara- 
tively infinitesimal period of time — can it be, I say, that when dust is ren- 
dered into ilust. all is ended? No. 

No word comes back. We know not what awaits us. Still, I have some- 
thing here in my innermost soul which tells me that this life is not the 
en<l; that beyond all this Ave have a wider, a higher, a nobler destiny. 
There lies in the human breast a something which says, '• This is not all." 
What an encouraging hope, what a divine thing it is for this world, this 
belief in a future existence. 

To repeat the words of our departed friend, s])oken here 
four years since, for him we trust in that "encouraging hope" 
he gave of his "belief in a future existence" and are glad- 
dened by the conviction that with him it is well. In the celes- 
tial economy no ray of light is left to wander aimle.ssly. His 
good deeds are treasured in the archives of eternity. We- 
rejoice that back of death's semblance is the potency of a 
splendid new birth. 

I have read that "man's best monument must l)e found in 
human hearts that swell at mention of his name, but speak 
not in a public place." How true is this. Can we receive a 
finer garland than is woven from the unremeinbered acts of 
kindness ? Huunin sympathy is like the summer rain " which 
makes the fields it hasten.s to bright and green." 

This young life is clo.sed. We pau.se to day to speak of the 
work he undertook, the tasks he accomplished, of his best en- 
deavor. As the sketch is completed we invoke a benediction 
from the world beyond, turning to those tender words of New- 
man, which are held hopeful for the dead • and helpful and 
worthy for the living: 

Lead, kindly Light. 



Life and Charactir of MclbouDic H. Ford. 11 

We stand diiiiib in decipliering the mystery of deatli — why 
thislitV was so soon and so suddenly abridged. It is uot given 
to us to explain why this career, so well endowed by luitui-e 
and so full of ludiiiisc, should lie tlius early terminated, 'i'his 
j)robl('m for centuries has not been solved. 

Our friend and colleague is uo more. For those who reuuiin 
the star of the future wliich shines iu the horizon is Hope; 
there is never more niglit than day. 

And now we leave him in his dreamless sleep. Farewell! 

Sleep 'till the slmdowstake 

Their endless rtij;lit; 
Until the iiioruing lire.ik — 

Good uijjhtl Kooduight! , 



Address of Mr. Youmans, of Michigan, 

Mr. Speaker, 1 can not |)ermit this oppoi'tunity to pass 
without paying my tribute to the memory of Melbouene H. 
FoRU. 

In reviewing tlie life of Mr. Foru, length of years — the 
allotted mea.sure of existence — is not a part. Neither is his that 
fame which comes from long service, faithful abilitj', riiiened 
exi)erience. i)olitical sagacity — that tardy acknowledgment of 
great ipialities. A sudden flash across the political horizon, 
then as suddenly eclipsed. Serving only in the Fiftieth Con- 
gress, yet in that brief time he made his name a household 
word. ]Mr. Foini's symjiatliies were not so much with the 
prosperous as with his fellow-citizens iu the more humble 
walks of life. His whole aim was to ennoble and elevate cit- 
izenship, to place it on that liigii plane which would insure 
permanency and safety to our institutions. 

In the swarming millions flocking to our shores he saw dan- 
ger unless the baser elements could be excluded. He sought 



12 Address of Air. Yoiiiiiaiis, of Michigan^ ou the 

a remedy, and was made chairman of a select committee "to 
inqiiiie into the alleged violations of the laws piohiliitin^' the 
importation of contract labor, paupers, convicts, and otiier 
classes." I need not say how well that work was done. The 
startling- evidence disclosed was commented on by the jiress 
throughout the land. Almost with one voice a correction of 
the evil was demanded. 

Elected to the Fifty-second Congress, he hoped to complete 
tlu^ work already so far advanced. But suddenly he dropi)ed 
the burden of life; that work was left for others to complete, 
and when completed it will be a monument to him outlasting 
"storied urn or animated bust." 

In Michigan Mr. Fokd always possessed the confidence and 
regard of his party, and in 1SS9 they lionored his courage and 
ability by making him their candidate for United States Sen- 
ator. Butfew men have climbed liigher in so short a time. The 
characteristic of Mr. Ford's public career was i^erseverance, an 
inflexible pursuit of well-consi(lere<l policy. In the more inti- 
mate relations of life he was cheerful, uniformly kind, and gen- 
erous. His friends were not only the prosijerous, but there 
were many in the more humble condition of life who looked on 
Mm not only as their champion but their friend. 

His sun had not reached the meridian; in his early manhood, 
at his home in Grand Eapids, in the ibrty-second year of his 
age. ou April 20, 1891, "he was, and then was not." 

Mr. Speaker, I have been impressed with that passage in 
Forster's Life of Goldsmith describing his funei'al: 

There were gathered iu his rooms the most (listiiiguislied men of the age; 
but ou the stairw.ay leadiug to liis rooms iu Lamb's Court there was weed- 
ing and mourniug by a crowd of the poor aurt uufortuuate who had been 
reoijiieuts of his bouuty and hail lost their only friend. 

So, too, at the funeral of Mr. Ford, distinguished men from 
all parts of the great and prosperous State of Michigan were 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 13 

assembled; but there, too. \v;is many an huiiihle friend mourn- 
ing liim. 

It was so sudden. They had looked forward to a lon.n' and 
brilliant career; surjjrised and sorrowiuj;' tliat so early in life 
the " yale liorseunin" had crossed his ]>ath and beckoned him 
to enter the Valley of the .Shadow, the opening of which is an- 
other morn than ours. 



Address of Mr, McMillin, of Tennessee. 

Mr. Speaker, through seven terms it has been my lot to 
watch the comings and goings, the daily walk, the success or 
failure, of those whom our sixty millions of people send to rei»- 
resent them ia this Hall, and I can truly say that in all tliat 
time I have seeU no young man come here wlio seemed more 
leadily to comprehend the high responsil)ilities devolved upon 
him, or who more intelligently and more assiduously dis- 
charged those duties than did the noble Kepresentative whom 
we mourn today. He came at tliat time of life when all is 
buoyancy, all hope, all anticipation. 

As has just been stated by his distinguished colleague [Jlr. 
Voumans], he realized the dangers that threatened his coun- 
try, and notwithstanding the trepidation in wliich others had 
shrunk from those dangers before linn, and in which others 
might be inclined to shrink from them around him, he came 
boldly to the front and determined to try if it were possible to 
enforce the laws of American citizenship so as to keep out that 
incursion of criminal and other classes against whom the laws 
had already setup barriers, but barriers which were being con- 
stantly overridden. His action in that regard is well known 
to the country. 

I remember that again, when the tariff bill was up foi- con- 



14 ^-jddrcss of Mr. McMillin., of Tennessee^ on the 

sideration, he proposed to place upon the free list an important 
article of manufacture — German plate glass. He came here 
from the heart of a great mauufactnring community. The 
beautiful city in which. he lived had been originated and sus- 
tained and made prosperous by manufactures. I remember it 
was whispered to him that probably the course he was taking 
was not the best to commend liim to those who believed in a 
system of tariff laws supposed to be inimical to his proposition. 

In a conversation tliat I had with him he said: "I care not 
wliat the effect on me maybe; I know tliat it is right and 
that greater prosperity will come by reasons of such an enact- 
ment." His arguments were so cogent that they convinced his 
associates and his proposition was made a part of the bill of 
that year, and, although that bill did not become a law, if he 
were here to-day he would ascertain that withiu less than six 
weeks there have been petitioners to the liumber of 40,000 
asking that this (Congress do what he attempted to do. 

Mr. Speaker, those of us who knew him well and knew him 
but to love him have lost much. His State has lost more, 
because to her he was iu>t simply an associate, a friend, but 
one of her pillars and stays, lint his country — the extent of 
which he fully comprehended, the imi)ortance of whose free 
institutions had a dwelling place in his heart and an intelli- 
gent dwelling place in his head — that great country which he 
served with such distinction here, has been also a suft'erer in 
this common calamity. 

I know not how his last hours were spent. I know noth- 
ing of those expressions concerning the future tiiat have been 
commented upon by his colleague who first spoke [^Nlr. O'Don- 
nellj. But if a man is to Ije judged, as we are given to hope 
he will be Judged, by every good deed done in the body — and 
of this 1 have no doubt— liis lot will he a happy one in the 
hereafter. A passage that has struck me as very forcible and 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 1 5 

beautiful is that between b>n and Clemautlie. where slie asked 
hiiii, when devoted to death, trembling before its uncertainties 
and moved by the sorrow of the coming separation, whether 
they would ever meet again. You remember that in substance 
he leplied: 

I have askeil that dieailful question of the stars that are eternal, of the 
rivers that everhistiii'4:ly flow. Imt tliey were all, all silent. But now, as I 
gaze into thy beautiful eyes .ami behold the depths of thy jiure soul. I know 
there is that there which eau not whidly jierish. We shall meet ajjain. 

So, those who knew tlie honorable life of our departed friend, 
liis intelligence, his soulful nature (if I may use that expres- 
sion), his comprehension of every obligation that rested upon 
him, his high endowments in all those thousand elements that 
go to make man the greatest of created beings, must hoj)!' and 
feel that there was that tliere which can not wholly perish, 
and that we shall meet again. 



Address of Mr. Hayes, of Iowa. 

Mr. Speaker, it is not my intention to attempt to pronounce 
any eulogy in the ordinary sense of that term upon Mr. FoKD, 
and even the perhaps lu'cessary details upon these occasions 
may well be left to his State colleagues; but from the stand- 
point of personal friendship, and in view of the high esteem and 
regard in which I held him and do hold his nientory, I can not 
let the occasion pass without expressing my never-ceasing sor- 
row at his untimely death and jiaying a tribute to his memory. 

We never met until we came together in the Fiftieth Con- 
gress, but, owing to the facts tluit we were born and reared in 
the same locality, were connected by many associations in 
Jlichigan's history, and had a host of mutual friends and ac- 
quaintances, we soon came together and became the closest of 



16 Address of Mr. Chipnian, of Michigan.^ on the 

friends. After sucli friendship for over four years, I t-au well 
say of him that he was generous to a fault, noble iu every 
quality and instinct, honorable always, and one of that rare 
class of men whose friendship never faltered. 

From a public standpoint he had not only brains, but the 
courage of his convictions, indomitable will, ceaseless energy, 
untiring industry, and with a suavity of manner and force and 
eloquence iu speech that made him carry his points. This 
combination of good qualities made his future a bright one 
for himself and full of promise to his people. 

In his death his country, his State, his party, and his con- 
stituency suffered an irreparable loss. 



ADDRESS OF Mr, CHIPMAN, OF MICHIGAN. 

Mr. Speaker, a year ago at this time the news was Hashed 
throughout the State of Michigan that the Hon. Melbourne 
H. Ford was dead. It was unexpected, and in that great 
Commonwealth it produced a painful shock; and soon at his 
home, on the banks of the beautiful Grand Eiver, the people 
of the State gathered together from all sections, the high and 
the low, tlie rich and the poor, men in official positions and 
men from the humblest walks of life, and thei'e, amid the 
wailing of funeral marches, the tears of sorrow, and the flowers 
of affection, they buried him. They left him in the kindly 
arms of Xature — to the sunlight and the breezes, to mother 
Earth lierself. 

What manner of man was he who was cousigneil to the tomb 
on that day? He was alert; he was decisive; he was a man 
of correct thought and of correct methods in public affairs. 
He was a man of firm convictions; and it must be said to his 
credit, as it is to the credit of every man of whom it is true. 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 1 7 

that he did not stop to determine whether those eonvietions 
were popular, but only as to whether they were riglit. And 
so it happened that in liis younger life when he became a mem- 
ber of tbe house of representatives of the Michigan I.egislature 
he distinguished himself by an effort to restore capital punish- 
ment in that State. 

That effort I did not approve of; but as t(j the learning, the 
ability, and the zeal with which he pursued it, there can be no 
doubt. It attracted a great deal of attention to him, for the 
reason that in that great Commonwealth there is practically 
but one opinion on the subject, and it is that the taking of a 
life for a life is still murder. 80 that he bravely opposed him- 
self to the pi-evailing sentiment of the people and espoused a 
cause which he knew to be unpopular. This is true heroism in 
a public man ambitious of public i)referment. 

Long before he came to this House he was a consistent taritt' 
reformer. Living in a manufacturing district, and in a manu- 
facturing State, above all in a wool-producing State, he had the 
courage of his convictions, and never for an instant hesitated 
to pursue the path of tariff reduction to wliicli his iu<lgment 
impelled him. At that time, Mr. Speaker, his position on that 
question, as it had been upon other questions, was not a i)opu- 
lar one; but he clung t<J it bravely and steadfastly until he be- 
came a member of this House, when, as you know, and as we 
all know, he still upheld tl'.e principle for which lie was con- 
tending. 

During his membership of this House he Ijccame interesteil, 
as has been said here already, in the question of immigration. 
The evils growing (uit of the coming of foreigners to our shores 
struck him, as they have struck others, as beiTigof a most seri- 
ous nature, and while 1 do not believe that he haxl any preju- 
dice against any man or any nationality, or any race who came 
among us, still he felt, and he Iclr rightly, that this great coun- 
H. Mis. 98 L' 



18 Address of Mr. Chipmaii, of Michigan^ on the 

try should not be made the asyUini for the halt, tlie hxine, the 
blind, the vicious, and the i-rimiual ; in a word, of the classes 
which other nations desire to get rid of 

I am sure he felt that the honest, the healthy imuiigranf was 
a welcome guest among us, and his arms were spread out to 
embrace every such man in the folds of Amei'ican citizenshij). 
But he had none of the mawiiish sentimentality — an instance 
of which has recently occurred in this House — which iuduced 
him to believe that there is any tie of brotherhood, that there 
is any claim of philanthroj^y, which demands of the hard- 
Avorklng people of this country that they shall share with 
everybody who chooses to come to us their means of subsist- 
ence, and iu this way diiuinish the wages of their own labor 
and the comfort of their own homes. 

There is a wrong idea abroad on this subject. We are told 
that we recently violated a treaty with China. Mr. Ford felt, 
as I feel, that there is no power, that there can be no power, 
whether it is called the treaty-making power or other power, 
which will permit foreigners in immense numbers to come into 
this country as mere denizens, as temporary sojourners among 
us, and pluck from our laboring people the apiiropriate rewards 
of their labor. 

The idea is monstrous. No treaty ever meant that. No 
treaty ever could mean that. And while it is x^erfectly prosier 
that the old law maxim recognized by the common-law writers 
.should prevail, and be respected and enforced if necessary by 
treaties, there is no law, there can be no law, there nuist be no 
law by which we share imr crust Avitli any and every i^erson, 
and any and every nation, without regard to their intelligence, 
their morals, and effect of their presence upon the general tone 
of manhood in this country. 

He was unfortunate on that occasion, nnfortuuate jierhaps in 
having entered upon the investigation carried on by the com- 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 19 

mittee wliicli took his name, because it led to lui.seoustnietioii 
and subjeeted him to criticism which his motives did not justily. 
He was unfortunate, too, in that the measure whicli hcbiouglit 
iuto the House as the result of the investigation was not accept- 
able to the House; but in the main, in his noble desire to pro- 
tect the workingmen from improper and ruinous competition, 
he was right, aud sooner or later he will receive the just meed 
of fame which belongs to being right upon a subject of so great 
imi)ortauce. 

It is among tlie mysteries, ;\Ir. Speaker, why a man should 
live to the age of )iromisc and be taken from us when he was 
taken. It is inscrutable, and we wonder what has become of 
the knowledge he has garnered, of the subtle machinery of his 
brain, of all the forces which made him what he was, and it is 
only with the certainty that in nature there is no cause with- 
out an etfect, that there is no mistake and no accident in any- 
thing which nature orders, that we may tind the solution, if 
we can lind a solution, of that enigma. We may ponder ou 
what might have been. We may wonder what would have 
been the setting of tliis sun which rose with so great bright- 
ness if it had run its course to the twilight Iwmr. 

But after all this is mere vague speculation. \Vc can know 
nothing, we can only hope. And yet, Mr. Speaker, in this sea- 
son of bud. of sunlight, of bloom and of balm, of resmTected 
nature, we are taught that death is but tiie portal of another 
chamber of life. There must be a hereafter. Careers of such 
l>roniise, cut so short, would be a mistake in the jtlan of na- 
ture if there is not. This knowledge garnered, these abilities 
so subtly fashioned, nuist have an expansion and a flehl some- 
where in the illimitable future. 

And so it is not given to us to know whether death is tlie 
enemy of man, or whether it is a ministering angel, bearing 
him to vaster opportunity ami to gi-cater usefulness. But I 



20 Address of Mr. Uliiting, 0/ Mhfiigan, on the 

Imiubly hope, Mr, Speaker, that that grave by the si(U' of the 
beautiful river is not the prison house of our frieud; tliathe has 
burst the earthly cerements of that touib, and that in that other 
state where eternal opportunity must be given all men the vir- 
tues which characterized him here have brighter, greater, hap- 
pier play, and that all that was earthly and all that was 
wrong in his character here dropped fiom him " like a worn- 
out fetter which his soul lias broke and thrown away." Happy 
will be the man who can shed the dross of passion and earthly 
weakness and dwell in the realms of ho^je' beyond the grave, 
habited in manly virtue and unclouded intelligence. 



Address of Mr. Whiting, of Michigan. 

Mr. Speaker, words can but feebly convey to the juembers 
of this House the real sorrow and appreciation of loss which 
the sudden death of Mr. Fobd brought, not alone to the people 
of Grand Rapids and his district, but to the people of the 
State at large. 

I believe that I speak within bounds when 1 say that a gen- 
eral sentiment prevailed throughout the State that he was the 
most promising young man in Michigan, and that a Inight 
future full of usefulness and honor was before him. These 
facts, Mr. Speaker, intensify the sadness of his untimely 
death and remind us of the importance of the present Imur. 

My acquaintance with him was confined mostly to my asso- 
ciations with him as his colleague in the Fiftieth Congress. 
We often consulted each other upiin public matters, and 1 can 
now clearly recall the honest earnestness of his manner when 
giving expression to his views, and his solicitude that a wise 
regard for all should govern his action. I recall his buoyancy 
of spirit, his fondness for public life, his ease and adaptability 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 21 

to work assioned to liiin, aud his active participation in all 
that transpired upt)U this tioor. 

I I'ecall the tribute of confidence and love so recently and so 
generously bestowed upon him by the peoi)le of liis district, 
and the ])leasure that was in stcu'e for him and his cheerful, 
loving wife, in again renewing the many cordial and luippy 
friendships of the two short years before, and so to-day am 
doubly saddened in contemplating the. change. His mortal 
career ended, liis life work done, and his friends sorrowing; 
but with it comes the reflection and consciousness that an All- 
wise God, not man, judges the frailties and the virtues of 
mortals, aiul that His Son has said : 

Inasmiirli us yf liave doiip it unto one ol' tlie least of these My brethren, 
ye have done it nnto Me. 

To his bereaved family we can give the assurance that we 
loved him, and appreciated his worth ; aud we can offer the 
consolation that his love and fidelity to his fellow-men, exem- 
plified in all his public acts, will stand as a legacy greater than 
riches aud more valuable than length of days. 



Address of Mr. Weadock, of MrjHiGAN, 

Mr. Speaker, Napoleon said: "All of us are needed a little; 
none of us are needed much." I might paraphrase this and 
say that each of us is needed but little in the great arena of 
the world, but there is a circle in which each one is needed 
very much indeed. And in the wider assemblage of friends 
wlio mourn the departure of our deceased cf)lleagiie there is a 
small family circle that can never be tlie same again. Thei-e 
is a widow, and there are orphans, who will miss as long as 
they stay on earth the kind and attectionate love and compan 



22 Address of Mr. Il'eadocA:, of Michigan^ on the 

ionship of the husband and father, and no troi)liy of Howeis, 
no studied eulogy, and no honor that may be paid to our de- 
jjarted brother can ever atone for the h)s.s which they have 
sustained. 

Now, it is said of so many that they were born and they 
died. Unless more can be said of a man than that he was 
born and died, it were better tliat nothing sliould be said; but 
such is not the case oi' our departed colleague; and while it 
may be proper to note the principal facts of his life, we do it 
more for the purpose of calling attention to his life work than 
for the mere pur])oses of biographical dat;i. 

Mr. Ford was born in Saline, a small village in the county 
t)f Washtenaw, near the city of Ann Arbor, the seat of the 
great University of Michigan. At 10 years of age he removed 
with his family to Lansing, the capital of the State, then a 
struggling village in the wilderness, now the bright and 
thrifty capital of a great and prosperous State. He was edu- 
cated at the Agricultural College of that State, a few miles 
distant from the city of Lansing, and one of the proud monu- 
ments to the care which Michigan gives to the diversified in- 
terests of her people. Lorn too late to take a part in the re 
belhon, he enlisted near the close of the war in the United 
States Navy, and served for a brief period. 

He was attached to the European squadron, which gave him 
the advantages of travel and tliat knowledge of men which is 
only gained by contact with them, and that love for American 
institutions which can best be strengthened by travel and 
observation among the people of other lands. As the years 
grew on he studied law with the firm of Longyear & Seager, 
in the city of Lansing; but he did not then undertake the 
practice of that profession. Later on he began the practice of 
the law, being associated with a leading firm in his home at 
Grand Eajjids. 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 23 

How well lie studied and how closely and analytically lie 
mastered the great priuciples of law is shown by the fact that 
while yet a student be prepared a work entitled " Ford's Legal 
Analysis,'" which may be found in the Library, and which 
shows a comprehensive and very clear understanding of the 
great principles which underlie the system of Jurisprudence. 
He then turned his attention to the study of stenography, and 
became one of the most expert iu the State. He was stenogra- 
l)her of some of the iirincipal courts of Michigan; and that is 
a very important calling, one requiring skill, honesty, and 
integTity in a marked degree. 

In 1884 he was elected by the Deuiocracy to represent the 
city of Grand Kajjids, which then constituted the first district 
of Kent County, in the State Legislature. He was appointed 
upon the committees on private corporations and on the uni- 
versity, two very important committees. He was faithful in 
his attendance upon the sittings of the Legislature, and espe- 
cially watchful of local interests. A member of the larger 
house, the first occasion when I saw him was in that body. 
He then introduced a bill for the restoration of capital punish- 
ment in Michigan, which had been abolished many years, ex- 
cept for the crime of treason, for which oficnse it still exists 
on the statnte book of that State. 

That bill was introduced a few days after the beginning of 
the session of the Legislature, prescribing the punishment of 
death for murder iu the first degree and one other heinous 
oftense which, under our statutes, may be punished the same 
as murder. As one gentleman has well said, public, opinion 
was believed to be against capital punishment, but that may 
be a misfortune, because I think the offenses named in the 
Ford bill can only lie adequately punished, so far as they can 
humanely be punished, by death. The house of representa- 
tives passed the bill by a vote of 59 to 29, and with the senti- 



24 Address of Mr. Wcadock, of Michigan, on the 

meiit of the State divided, perhaps more than oiie-luilf against 
capital punishment, the house voted for it. 

Tliis certainly was a signal triumph for a young member, 
serving his tirst term in the Legislature. The bill failed in 
the senate of the State, and did not become a law. He turned 
his attention also to the legislation for caring for juvenile 
offenders, a held which invites the serious thought of every 
statesman, who feels that the laws relating to young criminals, 
and their detention and punishment in our Jails and prisons, 
as managed at the jiresent time, make them schools for crime 
rather than places for the i^unishment and reform of offenders. 

The municipal courts of his own city also received his care 
and attention, and he succeeded in passing a bill which very 
largely added to their usefulness. Another law which he cham- 
pioned was one to prevent frivolous appeals to the supreme court 
when the amount involved was less than $100. Throughout 
the State of Michigan there are a number of abstract officers, 
who (-harged large rates for the abstracts which they furnished 
concerning titles to land. He recognized that these abstracts 
of titles should belong to the public, should be provided at pub- 
lic expense and furnished at cost to the people. To that meas- 
ure his earnest attention was given ; it was another move in the 
direction of relief for the people which they had a right to ex- 
pect and which it would have been a pleasure to him to achieve. 
That is another thing that among the many acts of his life 
endeared him to everyone who knew him. 

In this House I shall say but little with reference to his ca- 
reer. It is known to many who are still here. Many gentle- 
men who served with him upon his most important committee — 
the Ford Committee on Immigration — liave already gone to 
theh" reward. A few days ago we listened to eulogies on one of 
them, Francis B. Spinola. A bright young man from Nebraska, 
the late Eepreseutative Laird, a Michigan boy, who had gone 



Life and Cltaractcr of Mclhoitriw H. Ford. 25 

to the West and was letiuued licic to lejiieseut his people, was 
oue of his dear friends. Another bright and .ihle gentleman, 
the very pink of eoiirtesy in tliis House, Gen. William 11. F. 
Lee, was also oue of his near neighbors on the floor of the House. 
The able leader of this House, Mr. iSIeMillin, has expressed 
himself so well in respeet to the ability of Mr. Ford as amem- 
l)er of Congress that it would not beeome me to say anything 
further in that connection. 

In the campaign of ISSS, when Mr. FoKD was a caJidiilate 
for reelection, he met i)erhai)s the most terrific opiiositioii tiiat 
ever was arrayed against any candidate for Congress. TheMills 
bill had operated with i)articular severity against ^Michigan, 
and in the cam])aign of that year the jiersonal popularity of 
,Mr. FoBD and his i)ersonal following were not sufficient to 
stem the tide, and he was defeated, but in the succeeding cam- 
paign the same friends and the same following still stood by 
him, undismayed by the defeat, and he was elected a member 
of this body. 

In 1887 he was the candidate of his iiarty for United States 
Senator against Hon. James McMillan, receiving every vote 
of his party, an honor which he greatly prized. His last polit- 
ical service was to act as secretary of the State convention of 
his party. 

Death came to him suddenly. He had .spent the evening in 
conununion with his family, and had retired to rest in his usual 
health; but before the next morning's sun arose, his lips were 
sealed forever. Here is one of the fatalities almost connected 
with the life of jiublic men. They live at such a high tension, 
their energy seems taxed to the uttermost, so that when the 
death blow does come, it comes very suddenly. It came -jO to 
Adams, to Hendricks, to Chandler, to Windom, to Caroeuter, 
to Beck, and many other gentlemen whom 1 might name. 



26 Address of Mr. Wcadock^ of Michigan^ on the 

Cicero said: 

Some men make a womanish complaint that it is a great misfortnue to 
die before our time. I would ask what time? Is it that of nature? But 
she indeed has leut us life as we do a sum of money, only no certain day 
is fixed for payment. What reason then to complain if she demands it at 
pleasure since it was on this condition that you received it. 

It may be well for us to remember it, for it may come to us 
just as suddeuly as it came to him; aud we should be able to 
say with Hamlet, before the duel with Laertes: 

If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if 
it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all. 

And so let us say of him as he said of auother, Hon. Seth 
C. Moffatt, a former member of this House from the State of 
Michigan: His nu'uiory will not die. The friends who loved 
him in life will revere his memory in death; the acts of his life 
will be judged with clearer judgment than they could possibly 
have been in life. 

Let me say, in conclusion, as was said by him in his conclu- 
sion of his eulogy of Mr. Moflatt: 



Our friend will not be forijotten. His friends will ever keep his mem- 
ory fresh in their hearts. And when the glorious summer comes and the 
gra.ss grows green and beautiful and the Michigan roses blossom on his 
grave, although his lips will be hushed in death, yet the tender blades au<l 
the perfume of the flowers will speak of him. and to those who knew hiui 
best will seem to say, "Beneath here sleeps one who was kind and noble 
and true." 

We can say this with all sincerity and truth of our departed 
colleague. It is a pleasing thing to know that he believed in 
the future. There is a remedy for all the disappointments of 
this life iu the belief in immortality, and that tlie higher life of 
ma)i is extended beyond this earth. And we can sa.y of him 
who has solved the great mystery of life that we join with 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 27 

him iu his belief in iiuiuortality, and we hope that he has goue 
to a better hind, to that abode — 

Where lovi^ hath ]>ut i)tt' iu tlio hiiiil of its birth 

The staiu it had g.ithered iu tliis; 
And hope, the sweet singer, that gladdeued the earth 

Lies asleeii iu the bosom of bliss. 



Address of Mr. Belknap, of Michigan. 

Mr. Speaker, we have set apart this day, according to a cus- 
tom that has prevailed from time immemorial iu the Honse 
when one of our members has been removed by death, tliat 
the surviving members may pay just and proper tribute to the 
dead. 

Melbourne H. Ford, at the time of his death, was a resi- 
dent of the city of Grand Rapids, Mich. Born in Sahue, Mich., 
Juue 30, 184'J; was educated at the Michigan Agricultural 
College, and at the United States Naval Academy at Annap- 
olis, Md. He served in the Navy, enlisting there as an appren- 
tice September 10, 1804, and served on the ISabine aud the 
Colorado, aud was discharged May 7, 1867. He was then ap- 
prenticed a cadet at the Naval Academy June -1, 1807, and 
resigned on the 8th day of .January, 1808. 

Returning to the State of Michigan, he became otlicial 
stenographer to several of the courts, meantime studying law. 
He was iu the year 1878 admitted to the bar, but did not 
practice law until a short time before his death, but continued 
the profes.sion of stenography. In the year 1885 he was elected 
a member- of the State Legislature for the term of two years, 
aud was then elected a member of the Fiftieth Congress, and 
iu that Congress served with iidelity upon the Comiuittees on 
Territories and on Military Att'airs, and as chairman of the 



28 Address of Mr. Belknap^ of Michigan^ on the 

Select Committee on Contract Labor. This committee was 
created to inquire into the viohitions of the laws prohibiting 
the importation of contract laborers, and it was in this work 
that he attained prominence. 

The character of the immigration from all the countries 
of Europe to this country had become one of universal com- 
ment. The cities of the country, both East and West, were 
being rapidly filled with paupers and criminal classes of the 
countries of the Old World, becoming an unbearable burden 
upon the people of our land. They tilled the charitable insti- 
tutions of the different communities. The i)risons were full of 
them, and the costly machinery of the courts rapidly became 
a burden too heavy for the taxpayers to bear. And not only 
were the cities infested with this ^lndesirable class of beings, 
but the country districts were becoming unsafe on account of 
the tramps who roamed about robbing and often murdering 
the defenseless people. 

It was a well-known fact that European governments by an 
organized system were sending their criminals to this country, 
and not only the criminals, but the idiotic and insane as well. 
The ship that came freighted with a thousand honest people 
would also contain a hundred others who at their very first 
step upon our shores became a burden and a menace to our in- 
stitutions. Of this class many came here with no other design 
and having no other object in view. 

It was this threatening cloud, this plague, that seemed to be 
surely undermining the people of our own country that brought 
Mr. Ford's energy to the relief of the Commonwealth. Quick 
to perceive the danger, he put the wheels in motion that are 
still turning. Starting slowly at first, like the wheels of a large 
engine, they have gained in speed day by day until it seems 
the problem whether our own i)eople are to be enabled to enjoy 
this grand country is nearly solved. 



Life and Character of JMiiboiinic H. Ford. 2!) 

Laws and rules ha\e grown out of this agitation, this inves- 
tigation, so that at tile jiresent tinif many of the undesirable 
classes are ])revented from disgracing our soil liy their ])res- 
ence. 

'Tis sad that Mr. Ford could not have lived to see the 
results of his work, to see the promise of the day when the 
shiji coming to our shores with a thousand souls shall contain 
but law-abiding and self-sustaining people. He expressed a 
true statenn-nt. and one in the interest of all patriotic people, 
when he said that immigration should be controlled by the 
General Goverument, and not by any one State. That the 
subject of immigration was one that affected all our people 
and was a tit subject for Federal control. 

He was defeated for rei^lection in the Fifty-tir.st Congress, 
and two years later was elected to the Fifty-second Congress, 
but was suddenly stricken and died at his residence iu the 
city that delighted to honor him, on the -Oth day of Ai)ril, 
ISKl. Never did people feel more keenly the loss of one of 
"their own than did the jieople of the Fifth Congressional dis- 
trict of Michigan. 

He was to them a brother. They had found in him a friend 
whose heart overflowed with generosity. His friends love to 
think of him and his genial ways. Those nearest to him will 
never lose the sad pleasures which come from the recollection 
of scenes brightened by the sunny side of nature he always 
presented. Personal characteristics drew friends to Mr. Foku ; 
his iu<lividuality kept that friendship. 

It was with deep sorrow and regret that tlie people of our 
State heard of the death of my friend and predecessor, and to- 
day the hearts of the people of the State are full of sorrow and 
.sympathy for the bereaved widow and children, whose hus- 
band and father Y'I*^ <"ut down in the vigor of his manhood and 
iu the nndst of his activitv and usefulness. His death is 



80 Address of Mr. Belknap^ of Michigan^ on the 

deeplj- deplored by hi.s coustitueiits and by the State wbicli 
he lepieseuted iu jjart with undoubted ability as a member of 
this House. But he is goue, Mr. Speaker, and how soou we 
will follow none of us kuow. 

To all appearauces oue day before his death Mr. Ford might 
count upon a most enviable future public life. He had an ad- 
miring, unquestioning constituency; he had laid broad and 
deep the foundation for wide influence in the State. To the 
ordinary view few men had better promise of a far-reaching- 
political career, but no man, Mr. Siienker. with whatever eagle 
eye he may have at the ocean of the future, can tell when his 
voyage may be interrupted. He of whom we speak to-day was 
suddenly taken from his high vantage ground, and in what we 
call his untimely eclipse went out whatever there might have 
been for him otherwise of glory and honor to come. 

If he had a fault it was due t() his generous nature, his warm 
heart. lie studied to |)lease men, not to displease them. 
He often wronged himself in an effort to satisfy those who 
called for his assistance. When a man has been standing for 
many j-ears in the tierce storms and lights of political contro- 
versy it is generally forgotten that he has any individuality, 
pi'ivate life, or character, except such as has been imposed 
upon him by political allies or opponents. But iu the rough- 
and-tumble battle of politics and servitude to the jieople his 
most pleasing trait was his social, genial manner. Always 
cheeriul and humorons, he tried to strew the pathway of his 
friends with flowers. 

The best portions of a man's life are the little unnumbered 
acts of kindness and charity that one finds op])ortunity to 
bestow every day in the course of active life. Some men tire 
out, some men wear out, as the days fly and the years pass by; 
some men go backward, or drop behind in the race of life; 
some grow dull and prosy as they grow in years, while others 
grow young in action and in heart as the battles of life by day 



Life and Character of Alelboiirnc H. Ford. 81 

and mouth are met. But au iut('llij;:t'ut people will never 
willingly let die the deeds, the kind acts, and the good words 
of an honest mau. When a uuin's days are uumbered there 
comes after his death a judgment. 

Nature and society pass in a kind, yet in a just, survey upon 
each comjileted life. However, in this world we live in deeds, 
not years; we live in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, nut 
figures. He lives most who thinks most. He who acts the 
best feels the noblest. Our deceased friend counted life \\\ the 
heart throbs, and not by the measured standard of in'ontlis 
and years. To all appearance he had just reached the sum- 
mit of his strength. He seemed efpiipped to undertake labo- 
rious tasks; never so well lifted to serve his constituents and 
his country. He did not perceive the enemy that was watch- 
ing his every step and his every hour of life. To him the end 
seemed far distant. He thought to see the sun go down in the 
evening, the flowers to wither in the fall, the river to be fro- 
zen in the winter; not that the sun should go down at noon, 
and the flowers wither in the sunnuer, and the stream of life 
frozen before the chill of old age. 

3Ir. Si>eaker, life is a golden ship, with sails of angels' 
wings. It comes to the shore freighted with,an assorted load 
for man to select from. Youth going for the gifts may select 
roses with thorns, or the flowers of the fields, fragrant and 
sweet. He may select jewels, rare and precious, or he may 
load himself down with the baser metals, that will burden hiui 
through all his days on earth. \\\w is to guide the untrained 
hand that reaches for a share of the precious load? Someone 
has said that life is a casket of jewels, and that God holds the 
key. If this be true, and I believe it is, then God often un- 
locks the casket and gives to maukiTid many rare jewels. Xot 
gifts to be kept and worn for all time, but gifts for a day, t-o 
adorn and light the paths of the universe. 



32 Address of Mr. Belknap, of Michigan, on the 

The one day of life giveu to the iusect of the air is a life of 
activity. The life of a season, or a brief year of a plant or 
flower of the field or forest, is a life of fragrance and useful 
ness to all mankind. Tlie life of the birds of the air, brief in 
years, is a life of song, of love for its young, and of thank- 
fulness to its Creator for the breath of life it is ])erniitted to 
have. 

The life of man is also but a span, but a brief atom of time; 
but he who makes the most of that brief space lives the most, 
and best returns to his Creator reuumeration for the jewels 
out of the great and beautiful ship of life. 

O Death ! Hadst thou but spai-ed the life that we this day 
lament. 

The sunset splendors, fadeil now jiud dead; 
So have we seen the hopes of youth decay; 
Oh, niddy rose, that erst ilid Idnsb so red I 
• Thou, too, didst have too brief a summer's day. 

The thought, Mr. Speaker, leads me back to the day when he 
was a youth, and set out to hew his way to a place among men ; 
and thus do I see him: 

The sun had set. 
Then beamed the evening star beyond the erags. 
The evening wind sighed like a wearied child, 
And night fell like a mist upon the earth. 
He sank to sleep; before him iu his dreiims 
Three radiant forms iu moonlit beauty stood. 

Love, Fortune, Fame, were they; the three most fair 
His eyes had ever seen, or thought to see, 
As, on the Mount of Id.a years ago. 
Three goddesses in goddess beauty stood, 
Olympian iu loveliness and graee. 
And bade the shepherd make his choice 
The while they bribed him enviously with gifts. 
So stood those radiant forms ui)on the mount, 
And while the moonbeams trembled on the steep, 
As oft iu ancient times on Latmos' heights 
They trembled on Endymion's snowy brow, 
Addressed him as he lay in sleep. 



Life and Cltaraciir of Mc/boitnic //. Forcf. 33 

First Fortune spoke: "O. youth, clioo.se nie," slie cried; 

"I know where K"''^ is hiil, whose suuuy shine 

Is loved by all nieu more than they can tell. 

I know where gems await my favorite; 

Pure, lucent diamonds, glittering like stars. 

Imperial rubies, red as blood, 

And all the lesser jewels, which to name 

Were tedious task.'' 

Then Love, bbishinj; like the ilawn. 

Addressed him words caressingly : 

"Choose me," she sai<l, "and hapj>iness that lasts 

Long as the {'onstant stars shall be thy lot. 

Sweet courtesy that makes one's lite worth while, 

That adds a grace to kings, and makes the serf 

A mate for kings, shall lirighteu all thy days." 

Then Fame took up the word, aud with a smile: 

''Choose Fortune, child?" she said; "she hath wings, 

Aud Hies away as lightly as she comes; 

And if she stay, what jirotit doth she bring? 

She gives no honor : 'tis gold that wins when 

Fortune takes her tliglit. Now tell me, pray, 

'Where be those cringing things of jiarasites 

That fatten on a lordling's store? 

Flown like a vulture when their feast is done. 

And as for Love, I grant you she is fair; 

So are the sunset days that fade to gray ; 

So is the wild rose that must wither soon ; 

So is the pebble shining in the stream ; 

Love is a dream, my child, a titful dream." 

"O Fame! '' he cried, "1 choose thee; thou art best." 

And then he awoke. I'ale star-shine on tlie crags. 

And that was all. Such was the dream. 

He climbed adown the mountain side. 

Unto the shores of the roaring sea, 

Great billows with majestii- onrush swei)t 

Like a con(|uering army to the hostile shore. 

Within a sheltered cove a pinnace lay. 

Equipped for sea, and lifting up her chain 

He stepped aboard and set sail. 

All day he sailed aud fainter grew the land; 

Night came. ;ind one by one along the coast 

The light-house bcai'ons thished their messages, , 

Then one by one faded from his sight. 

H. Mis. its 3 



34 Address of Mr. Belknap^ of Michigan. 

So vale and forest, mour.taiu side ami sea. 
Were traversed in a homeless seareli for fame, 
Whose form appeared not, save in fleeting dreams. 
When, after calms and storms upon the main 
His voyage had reac-hed the ocean's utmost boniui, 
Upon the slun'e he met an aged man, 
To him told the story of his search. 
"<), youth." the aged man low-voiced replied, 
"There is one more noble than the 'my.stic three.' 
Though fair is Fortune witli her yellow gold; 
Though sweet is Love if she be true ; 
Though grand is Fame, and elotinent her voice; 
Fame, Fortune. Love, less noble all th.in one 
Whose name is lluty. Serve her day by day, 
And happy if with chastened life and jnire, 
Thou quit thyself as knight of l>uty ought; 
Fame, Fortune, Love, and all that men hold dear, 
Will follow surely as the azure sky. 
For he who gives his life at Duty's call. 
Lives while he dies, and conquers in defeat; 
And he who loves the right more than all else. 
Shall win at last the eternal crown of life." 

Then cau we say : 

Cover the embers 

And put out the light; 
Toil comes with the morning 

And rest with the night. 

The book is complete 

And closed like the day; 
And the hand that has written it 

Lays it away. 

On motion of ^[r. Belknap, tlie re.solutions were adopted; 
and the House then, in pursuance thereof (at 4 o'clock p. m.), 
adjourned. 



rK0CEi-DiX(;s ix the senate. 



December 22, 1891. 

Mr. McMillan. I ask tliat the resolutious of the House of 
Representatives rehitive to the death of my bite colleague in 
that House, Hod. Melbourne H. Ford, be laid before the 
Senate. 

The Vice-President. The Chair lays before the Senate the 
resolutions of the House of Representatives, which will be 
read. 

The Secretary read as follows : 

Whereas the House has hearil with profound soitow of the deatli of 
Hon. Melbourne H. Fonn, hite a Representative from the State of Mich- 
igan: Therefore, 

Resolved, TJiat as a ui;irk of n^spect to his memory the House do now ad- 
journ. 

Iieaolved, That tlie Clerk lie direeted to eouimnnii'ate tliis aetion to the 
Senate. 

^Ir. ^McMillan. Mr. President, 1 otter the resolutions 
which I send to the desk and ask for their adoption. I give 
notice that I shall on some suitable occasion in the future ask 
the Senate to pause in its business to i)ay fitting tribute to the 
life and public services of my late colleague. 

The Vice-President. The resolutions submitted by the 
Senator from Michigan will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutiotis, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Melboih.ne H. Fori>, late a Representative 
from the State of Miehijjan. 

/?e*o?re(f, That the Secretary lommnnicate this resolution to the House 
of Representatives. 

35 



36 Proceedings in the Senate. 

Tbe Vice-President. The question is on agreeiDg- to the 
rt'solutious. 

The resolutions were agreefl to unauiinously. 

Mr. McMillan. As a further uiark of resj)ect to the mem- 
ory of the deceased, I move that the Senate do now adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to; and (at 1 o'clock and 17 minutes 
p. ni.) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, Wednesday, 
December 23, 1801, at 12 o'clock meridian. 

February 4, IS'.tS. 

Mr. Stockbridge. I ask that the message from the House 
of Eepresentatives announcing the death of Hon. Melbotrne 
H. Ford may be laid before the Senate. 

The Presiding Officer. The message will l)e read. 

The Secretary read as follows : 

L\ TiiK House ok Repkesentatives, April 0, 1S93. 

Resolved, That the busiuess of thb House be now siispeudeil, that oppor- 
tuuity may be given for tril)utes to the memory of the Hon. Melbourxe 
H. Ford, late a Representative from the State of Michigan. 

Resohed, That as a particular marli of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased, and in recognition of his emiu(^nt abilities as a public servant, the 
House, at the conclusion of these memorial proceedings, shall stand ail- 
Journed. 

Rciolri'd, That tlie Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Hcsolred, That the Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these resolutions 
to the family of the deceased. 

Mr. Stockbridge. I offer the resolutions which I send to 
the desk. 
The Presidinc^ Officer. The lesolutions will be read. 
The Secretary read as follows : 

Resolrcd, That the Senate receives with sincen; regret tlie anuoinicemeut 
of the death of the Hon. Melhournk If. Foi;d, late a member of the 
House of Representatives from the State of Michigan, and tenders to the 
family of the deceased tlie assurance of their sympathy with them under 
the bereavement they liave been called upon to sustain. 

BeHolred, That the Secretary of the Senate be directed to transmit to the 
family of Mr. Ford a certified copy of tlie foregoing resolution. 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 37 



ADDRESS OF Mr. STOCKBRIDGE, OF MICHIGAN. 

Mr. President, in tlie full tinsli of early ))rime, at the begin- 
ning of wliat would have been a great career, and just after 
a remarkable demonstration of the confidence reposed in him 
by the peojile of his State and district, Hon. Melbofrne 
Haddock Ford, Rei)resentative in C^ongres-s from the Fifth 
district of Michigan, was called from this earth. 

It has fallen to the lot of bnt few of the many distinguished 
men whom Michigan has sent to represent her in the Congiess 
of the United States to acquire such great and genuine popu- 
larity with the masses of her people as that which was 
awarded to the late Eei)resentative FoKD. His career was 
short, but successful almost beyond precedent in the State's 
political history. His death was sudden, but painless. His 
funeral was an ovation to his memory. 

It was my pleasure to be long and well acquainted with the 
deceased Eepreseutative. Although we were not of the same 
political faith, and his signal and repeated successes were dis- 
advantageous to the political organization of my association, 
I shared in the general pride with which the people of iSIichi- 
gan observed his steady advance to national distinction. 

Mr. FoKD was a native of the State he afterward honored in 
public life and in whose .service he died. He was born at 
Saline, Washtenaw County, Mich., June 30, 1849. It is un- 
necessary to give the details of his youth or his younger man- 
hooil. In his boyhood he had the hard labor and practical 
experience incident to farm life Afterward his parents re- 
moved to Lansing, the capital of our State, and he was edu- 
cated at the Agricultural College, located there. 

He enlisted in the naval service of the country during the 



38 Address of Mr. Stockhridgc, of Michigan, on the 

war, and served with gallantry for sonietliing over a year. 
After his return to his lioine in Lansing' he was appointed, 
through the favor of the lamented Hon. John W. Longyear, of 
Michigan, long a distinguished Kepresentative in Congress, 
to a position as (-adet in the Xaval Academy at Annapolis. 
An aiiection of the eyes prevented a completion of his course 
at this institution, and undoubtedly changed his subsequent 
career. 

Eeturning to Michigan he was some time engaged as a drug- 
gist in the city of Charlotte, but soon afterward he turned his 
attention to the profession of phonography. He grew to be an 
ex])ert and one of the most successful shorthand writers in this 
country. He was long engaged as stenographer in the higher 
courts of western Michigan. At the same time he studied law, 
was admitted to the bar, and acquired some prominence as an 
active practitioner. He was the author of "Ford's Legal Analy- 
sis," a small but standard legal work. After he had entered 
political life he retired from the stenographic practice and was 
an active attorney at law. At the time of his death he was a 
member of the well known Grand Kapids law firm of M.'.Garry 
& Ford. 

Mr. FOKD was always popular in the enterprising city which 
he afterward represented in Congress. He was in many respects 
typical of that remarkable, bustling, energetic, and prosi)erous 
city. His entry into political life was almost accidental, and 
his remarkable success in the public service was achieved with- 
out original intention or x^reparatiou for it. He was always an 
active member of the Democratic party, and was in the fall of 
1SS4: chairman of a city convention to nominate candidates for 
the Legislature. 

To his surprise, he was nominated by acclamation as the first 
choice of the convention, and was handsomely elected. It did 
uot take Mr. Ford long to establish his position as a leader in 



Life and Character ofMelboiinie H. Ford. 39 

the Legislature. His party was in the miuority, bat it is no 
discredit to his associates of tlie majority to say that he was a 
genuine leader from the first day of the session. He entered 
upon his duties witli honesty and energy aud carried them out 
with enthusiasm and ability. He was identified most promi- 
nently in this session of the Legislature with an eft'ort for the 
restoration of capital punishment in Michigan. 

Capital ijunisliment had been unpopular for a long time, aud 
efforts for its restoration had theretofore beeu overwhelmingly 
defeated, but Mr. Ford's effort was responsible for a great 
alteration in public sentiment, and while his bill did not become 
a law. he pressed it with such vigor that fnnu that time there 
has been a very material and recognized change iu public opin- 
ion upon the subject. Mr. Ford's experience and pi'ominence 
acquired in the Legislature led to his being early discussed as 
a candidate for Congress in the fall of 1886. Although his 
district went Republican on the general ticket that year, Mr. 
Ford was elected to Congress by a very comfortable plurality. 

Mr. Ford's service began with the Fiftieth Congress. JJe- 
fore the close of the first half of his term he had taken a very 
prominent rank in the House of Representatives. He had 
beeu originally appointed on some of the most important com- 
mittees of that body, and was early in his service placed at 
the head of a special committee of the House to investigate 
the question of immigration, to which he had given much 
attention for .several years. 

This committee visited important cities in all parts of the 
country, acquired a mass of useful information, and nuwle a 
complete aud satisfactory report to the House. His work on 
this committee and his efforts generally in Congress rendered 
him very popular in his district. He was renominated for the 
Fifty-first Congress. In the election which followed the 
Republican party swept the district and Mr. FouD was beaten 



40 Address of Mr. Stockbridge^ of Michigan^ on the 

by ;i very liirge majority, but his coutiuued popularity was 
demonstrated by the fact that he ran very far ahead of his 
ticket. His defeat seemed only to emphasize his popularity 
and to give him renewed prominence in his party. 

When the Legislature met, in the ensuing January, to elect 
a successor to Hon. Thomas W. Palmer, in this body, Mr. 
Melbourne Haddock Ford received the complimentary vote 
of all of the Democratic members of both houses of the Legis- 
lature for that position. 

In midsummer of 1890 Mr. Ford was made chairman of the 
Democratic State Convention held in the city of Grand Rapids, 
which nominated the first successful State ticket of that party 
in the period of thirty-seven years. 

Later in the year he was, for a thii'd time, nominated by ac- 
clamation for Congress. ]S'otwithstanding his defeat of two 
years before, he entered the campaign with great vigor and 
spirit, and the popular confidence in him was once again dem- 
onstrated by his overwhelming return as a Representative- 
elect iu the Fifty-second Congress. His position now seemed to 
be secure. It was believed by his partisans and friends that 
he was now to enter upon a continuous and successful career 
in the House of Representatives. He began faithfully i)re- 
paring himself for this work of his. 

In the spring of ISDl he was chairman of the committee on 
resolutions of the Democratic State Convention. This was his 
last public service. On the 14tli day of April, 1S91, the people 
of Grand Rapids and of the State of Michigan were univer- 
sally shocked at the news of his sudden and altogether unex 
pected death. He i)assed away at the early age of 41, having 
achieved unusual success and having come to a position of 
foremost prominence in the attairs of his ComuKuiwealth. 

Mr. Ford was generous, gallant, and chivalric. He was 
brilliant, brave, and patriotic. In ))ublic life he honored the 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 41 

State which houured him. His h).ss was keenly felt by the peo- 
ple of his city, by his friends everywhere in Michigan, and by 
liis colleasues in the Congress of the United States, who had 
hoped to renew the ai'iinaintaiicc and enjoy the society of this 
able, energetic, honest, and couscuentions man. 

All that was mortal of onr late associate lies in a beautiful 
grove dedicated to the dead, in the midst of that hive of life 
and industry, the city of (J rand Rapids. Bat we Inive abso- 
lute faith in the divine assurance that we may hope that such 
men do not fail to live again. Serene confidence in the future 
life was a characteristic of our dead friend. 

The first remarks that he ever made in Congress were ui)on 
an occasion like this, when the House of Representatives paid 
tribute to one of his dead associates from our State. Ilis ex- 
pressions of hope and confidence in the continued life of that 
dead colleague have a sweet savor to us now, for in his words 
we can ourselves express the faith that he will live again. 

Sdoner or later — 

He said — 

the Angel of Death comes to us all. That there is a hereafter every man, 
it seems to me, must believe. I can not couceive how anyone with 
human Instincts can thiuk otherwise. If there exists a person who hon- 
estly believes that when his eyes are closed in death nothing remains, 
such a person is to be pitied. When dust is rendered into dust is all 
ended? No; I have something hero in my innermost soul which tells me 
that this life is not the end ; that beyond all this we have a wider, a higher, 
a nobler destiny. There lies in the human breast a something which says, 
"That is not all." What an encouraging hope, what a divine thing it is 
for this world, this belief iu future existence! 



42 Address of Mr. Daniel, of J 'irginia, on the 



Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia. 

Mr. Pre!<ideiit, the character of the living may be estimated 
by the measure of respect which they pay to tlieir dead. 

Humau life is the most spleudid and most wouderful mauifes- 
tatioii of the Creator's power. Earth and heaven are married 
iu its being. It is the most sacred as it is the most beautiful 
and interesting of all earthly things. Its close, whether by the 
slow degrees of fading strength, or by the sudden stroke of dis- 
ease, or by the violent hand of force, is the most shocking and 
appalling of all the catastrophes of nature, and the most inscru- 
table manifestatiou of our Creator's will. 

We can not grow familiar with death. The distance between 
us and it may be brief iu fact, but it must ever seem remote 
and far apart from us as long as we dwell in the land of the 
living. Its mystery can iu)tbe penetrated. Its dignity can not 
be belittled. We can not contemplate it save with awe and 
reverence. We can never know, until at least the veil is lifted, 
the meaning of its dispensation. Yet we may trust and ho])('. 

Day by day our friends depart. Hei'e as members of small 
bodies, like the House of Reiiresentatives and the Senate, we 
witness as upon a narrow field the process of swift transitions 
and dissolving scenes. Men chosen by the people, spirits vali- 
ant, gifted with light and power and prowess, come to discharge 
their delegated missions. They deliver their messages and dis- 
appear. Some are retired by changes of i>opular opinion, some 
of their own volition, some by the final fate, but in a little while 
all are gone. 

Yet the scene is as busy as ever before. There are no vacant 
chairs. The great stream of natural life Hows with increasing 
depth and volume, and few even of the greatest who have floated 



Life and Characlcr of Mel hour nc H. Ford. 4o 

oil its surtiift' ItMVt' beUiiul tlioin any pioml inimuiiuMit or sliiu- 
iiig token of their days. 

But it does not follow that their work was not important or 
that it was not al)ly and faitlit'ully iterlornied. 

It does uot follow that their names are not worthy to be cher- 
ished with gratitude aud homage. 

The deeds that hold society in cohesion and harmony and 
guide its forces to increasing i)rosperity are those of the mass 
that toil and think in their appropriate spheres. To do to- 
day's work and let it go for its worth is not less the task of the 
great than of the small. Whether it siiine or no, whether it 
be lieralded or no, all the same it has become a factor for good, 
and is having its intluencc in shaping, expanding, and pre- 
serving the publie*weal. 

Yesterday we mourned a sage of the Senate from my owu 
State who had suddenly vanished from our side full of yeais 
and honors. To-day Soutli Dakota, in the far Xorthwest, and 
South Carolina, the land of the Palmetto, have bent side by 
.side over their dead. 

And now we mourn the young and brilliant sou of Michigan, 
who was striiiken down like a knight on the lists, while his 
fiery heart was all aglow with the fury of battle and his weap- 
oned arm was lifted in the press of conflict. 

Melbourne Haddo(."k Ford was born in that young and 
vigorous Commonwealth which sent him here, and which has 
sent to our National <'ouncil so many statesmen full of the 
intellectual force and social grace, and of the energy and ear- 
nestness that have characterized its i)rogressive and enlight 
cncd civilization. He was a characteristic representative man 
of tiiat aspiring and achieving peoi)le, ami his had been a busy 
and eventful life. 

Whatever his hand iiad found to do he had done with his 
might, and Ills brief career was crowded with deeds that be- 
si)oke his fertile genius. 



44 Address of Mr. Daniel.^ of I 'irginia, on the 

Boin in 1840, he liatl liastciicd while yet a boy tu become a, 
(lefeuder of the tiag that floated over his people, and which 
was sent forth to battle. I respect him for it. He entered the 
uaval scrxicejnst before the close of the ci\ il war witii the 
enthusiasm of the ingenious youth who throughout this laud 
heard the drum beat, and instinctively sought the ranks. 

As lie laid aside the sword and the echoes of strife died away, 
he took up the general tasks, the love, the hope of peace, and 
its constructive duties. A clerk, a druggist, a stenographer, 
a lawyer, an autlior, a jwliticiau, a State legislator, twice a 
member of Congress, the choice of his party for United States 
Senatijr and receiving its support — these successive rounds of 
the ladder he mounted — and while his face full of hope still 
looked ujjward, and his strong hand was stretched upwar<l, lol 
death touched him and he fell. Warm att'cctions and great 
interests and high hopes concentrated their dreams around 
him, which now, alas! can only pour their sorrows upon his all 
too early tomb. 

I can not sj)eak of Mr. FoKU from the standpoint of intimate 
association with him. To recite his jirivate virtues is the ])leas- 
iug part of those who knew him better than myself and it has 
been well performed. But this I observe in his career that 
discloses his character on its marked and stronger features. 
Success had rewarded his efforts — he had been a member of 
the State Legislature, and then of the House of Representa- 
tives in the Fiftieth Congress. In that Congress he took de- 
cided positions upon i»ublic issues. 

Some of his views were unpoi)uIar. He was defeated and 
relegated to private life. The spell of his successive victories 
was broken. But, nothing daunted, heret5utered the political 
field in 1890. He firmly and boldly advocated the doctrines 
whh'h commanded his loyal C( uj victii ins. The people discovered 
in him the staunch, true, leader; and now triumphing niton 



Life and Character of Melbourne H. Ford. 45 

the field tbat he had lost, he was reelected a member of the 
Fiftysecoiid Congress of the United States. Well, might we 
apply to him the warrior's boast: 

Call me not shaiiieil wbo am Imt oviTthrowii; 
Thrown have I been, not ouce but many a time. 
Victor I'lom vanqui.sheil issnes at the last, 
An<l overthi-ower from being overthrown. 

Before that Congress assembled the victor was dead upon 
his shield. This I observed in :\Ir. Fokd while he was in the 
public service here. 

He was full of push and energy, and grasped his duties with 
a comprehending mind and a firm, industrious hand. 

He seemed tireless in his efforts to press to success the 
measures confided to his care. I saw him ou his appearance 
before committees and in his tasks upon the floor of the House. 
I realized that there was a nmn in earnest, no trifler with tilings 
he had to deal with, a spirit resolute and restless, determiued 
to do or die. 

1 shall not prolong this poor and imperfect tribute .save to 
add this thought: Mr. Fokd belonged to that class of thouglit- 
ful, courageous, industrious men — well infoniied, Justly am 
bitious, with high ideals and ])atriotic purposes, who correctly 
interpret the genius of this day and generation, and who are 
destined to lead and mold it. 

The freshness i^'i youth was in his mind and lieart. lie l)ore 
upon his soul no burdens from the past wliich so lacerated it as. 
to imi)air its generous impulses; and he entertained no preju- 
dices which belittled his stature, clouded his reason, or im- 
pcilcil his pathway. 

Had he lived his career would have shed larger honor upon 
the State which gave him to the service of the nation, and 
grown into greater brightness around his name. 

Cut off even as he ripened for the great tasks that kindled 



46 Address of Mr. McMillan, of Michigan, on the 
his geuius and his ambition, we can but bow to the wisdom 
and power of our Maker who lias so decreed and say, "Thy 
will be done." Yet we take to heart the lesson that is left to 
enri.-h our annals in the life of this noble young American 
statesman, who followed his faith with fidelity, who did his 
deed with courage, and who now released from labor, sleeps 



well 



Address of Mr. McMillan, of Michigan. 

Mr. President, at the capital of the nation and in the halls 
of Congress more than anywhere else the fact of man's mor- 
tality is impressed upon the mind. Seemingly few and brief are 
the intervals when from all the public l)nil(lings and from the 
doors of both the House and the Senate the black badge of 
mourning is absent. To-day the Senate has been called to pay 
its tribute of respect to the memory of a young man, a man who 
was apparently just entering on a career of large usefulness 
to his State and nation. Trained at the Naval Academy for 
service in the great struggle, the war was ended before he 
could see active duty. 

The return of peace led Mr. L^ord to seek success in civil 
life. His brightness and industry are sulhciently indicated 
when it is said that he attained a high reputation in the ditli- 
cult and laborious profession of stenography. His popularity 
led to his election as a member of the Michigan State Legisla- 
ture, and his service there was of so satisfactory a character 
as to lead the people of the Fifth district, which includes the 
gi-eat manufacturing and commercial city of Grand Kapids, 
to send him to the House of Representatives. 

During his first term in that body he attracted the atten- 
tion of the country to his work in investigating the subject of 



Life and Character o-' Melhonrue H. Ford. 47 

iiiiTiiijjratioii. Defeated tor lei'lectioii. after an interval oftwd 
yeais lie was aj;aiii eleeted to ('oi|f;ress, but died heluic lie 
could take liis seat. The esteem in which he was held by his 
own party throughout the State was shown by the fact that 
four years aj^o he was the caucus nominee of the J)eniocratic 
nieniliers of the Legislature for the oftice of United States 
Senator. 

Such in brief is tlie record of a man who had crowded into 
tiie forty-two years of his life experiences remarkably- varied. 
The death of such a man is a loss to his State, and in Mich 
i^an the mourning for him was widespread. In the beautiful 
city of Grand Rapids, where Mr. Ford made his honu'. the 
grief was deep and sincere. 

It is titting, tliei'efore, that the Senate put on record its ap- 
preciation of Mr. Ford's services in behalf of his State and 
his country ; and althougii my own personal ac(juaintance 
with him was slight, I appreciate the opportunity to pay this 
tribute to the worth of one whose reputation is a source of 
ride to every citizen of Michigan. 

Mr. I'resident, I move the ado])tion of the resolutiims. 
The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 






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